This invention relates generally to a transfer control system and, more particularly, to a transfer control system adapted for use with a piston insertion machine for inserting pistons into respective cylinders of an internal combustion engine.
The introduction of a piston assembly into a cylinder bore of a combustion engine is a complex and time consuming process. In order to accomplish this task, two technicians are required to insert the piston assembly into a respective cylinder of an engine block, a first technician is positioned at a front side of the engine block and a second technician is positioned at a rear side of the engine block.
The first technician inserts the piston assembly into a piston ring compressor which enables the piston rings to be compressed about grooves of the piston. Once the piston assembly is properly inserted within the piston ring compressor, the first technician then aligns the piston ring assembly with the cylinder bore and begins sliding the piston assembly through the piston ring compressor and into the cylinder bore. However, the first technician is unable to completely insert the piston assembly within the cylinder bore and, at the same time, align the connecting rod of the piston assembly with the crankshaft of the engine block. This is mainly due to the fact that the first technician does not have access to the rear portion of the engine block during the insertion process, and is thus unable to manipulate and/or connect the connecting rod to the crankshaft.
Thus, to properly connect the connecting rod of the piston assembly with the crankshaft, the second technician grasps the connecting rod (which is already partially inserted within the cylinder bore) from the rear side of the engine block, and slides the piston assembly toward the crankshaft. As the second technician slides the piston assembly towards the crankshaft, the connecting rod is aligned with the crankshaft. Thus, by being positioned at the rear side of the engine block it is more advantageous for the second technician to complete the insertion and aligning process.
Realizing that the engine block may be very large, however, the first and second technicians are spaced apart from one another and may not be able to adequately communicate with one another during the inserting and aligning process. This being the case, both the first and second technician can inadvertently attempt to insert the piston assembly within the cylinder bore at the same time. This can result in misalignment of the connecting rod, and can lead to inefficiencies in the assembly process. This may also result in the first technician sliding the piston assembly too far into the cylinder block, thus damaging the connecting rod or the crankshaft.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention a transfer control system is provided. The transfer control system has a proximity sensor and a first and second control system.
In another aspect of the present invention a piston insertion machine having a transfer control system is provided. The piston insertion machine has a frame and a piston ring compressor. A proximity sensor is positioned on an end of the piston ring compressor, and a first and second control system is provided.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a method of using a transfer control system is provided. The method has the steps of controlling a piston ring compressor, and transferring the control of the piston ring compressor from a first control system to a second control system.